Mold cleaner



Nov.l 25, 1969 l.. w. JEFFRr-:Ys l 3,479,678

MOLD CLEANER Filed Aug. 17, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet l H l Q2 a m N L. \I

Nov. 25, 1969 L.. w. JEFFREYS MOLD CLEANER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug.17, 1967 L. W. JEFFREYS Nov. 25, 1969 MOLD CLEANER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5Filed Aug. 17, 1967 Nov. 25, 1969 Filed Aug. 17. 1967 L. w. JEFFREYSMOLD CLEANER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 @y /f-at /f/allfiflff.

Nov. 25, 1969 l.. w. JEFFRl-:Ys 3,479,678

MOLD CLEANER Filed All@ 17. 1967 5 Sheds-Sheet 5 I l .54E Ullif77-Denier.' www Q/fefefffg.

@M mi 25% /g United States Patent 3,479,678 MOLD CLEANER Lyman W.Jeffreys, Prospect, Ill., assigner to Amsted Industries Incorporated,Chicago, lll., a corporation f New Jersey Filed Aug. 17, 1967, Ser. No.661,402 Int. Cl. B22d 43/00 U.S. Cl. -21 9 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THEDISCLOSURE A rotary brush device is provided for scrubbing the castingcavity of a graphite mold. Rotary brushes are attached to an overheadtrolley, which guides the brushes through the open mold. Pivotallymounted arms actuated by power cylinders are connected to the brushesfor swinging the rotating brushes out against the internal mold surfacesand retracting the brushes after the cleaning operation has beencompleted. A system is provided to direct a water spray against the areaof the mold being cleaned.

In the use of that type -mold apparatus described above,

it has been found desirable to minimize erosion of the graphite blockcasting surfaces and to improve surface qualities of the castings byapplying certain combinations of materials, such as tine aluminum dustin a moist -clay binder, to the mold surfaces defining the castingcavity. Such mixtures, called mold washes, have the benecial effect ofaiding to prevent adherence of the steel to the internal graphitesurfaces.

In removing the slab from the mold, however, some of the mold wash andsome slag may adhere to the internal mold surfaces, therebynecessitating removal of these adherents prior to any subsequent castingoperation. If the mold is used continually, hand removal of the residualmold wash and slag is normally too time consuming and dangerous, sincethe temperature of the mold may be in the neighborhood of 500 F. duringthe time allotted for cleaning.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a mold cleaningor scrubbing device that will remove mold washes and slag from at leasta portion of the cavity defining surfaces of a mold.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a .mold cleaningdevice that is essentially automatic and self-adjusting duringoperation.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing description and appended claims, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is an overall elevational view of the presently describedinvention; l v

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional elevational view taken along line 3 3 of FIGUREl;

FIGURE 4 is a detailed side elevational view of the cleaning apparatusshown generally in FIGURE 1;

3,479,678 Patented Nov. 25, 1969 ice FIGURE 5 is a sectional view takenalong line 5 5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a detailed end elevational view of the cleaning apparatusshown generally in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a plan sectional view taken along line 7 7 of FIGURE 4,showing the brush driving apparatus in greater detail; and

FIGURE 8 is a simplified schematic view illustrating the brush drivingmechanism.

It will be understood that certain details have been omitted from someof the views for the sake of clarity or where those details are betterillustrated in other views.

With reference now more particularly to FIGURES l-3, the mold cleaningdevice is supended from a gantry 11 comprising a pair of spacedhorizontal beams 10 located above the mold, indicated generally at 12.Beams 10 are separated by a plurality of transverse support elements 14and are suppported at their ends in any convenient manner. In theembodiment shown, one end of beams 10 is supported by a pair of slightlyinclined columns 16 secured at their base to a foundation frame 18 bygusset plates 20, and the other end of said beams is supported upon atransverse beam 22 secured by means of a gusset plate 24 to theframework 26 of the building. A pair of rails 28 (FIGS. 2 and 3) aresecured along the underside of beams 10.

A trolley 30 is provided for moving the cleaning device along the lengthof the spaced beams 10' and comprises a horizontally disposedrectangular frame 32 carrying rotatable wheels 36 near the cornersthereof, said wheels resting upon the aforementioned rails 28 forrolling movement of the trolley.

Means are provided for moving the trolley 30 along the rails 28, such asmotor 38 secured to the trolley in driving relationship by lmeans of abelt 40 with a shaft 42 journalled in said trolley, and a pinion gear 46secured to each end of said shaft engaging toothed racks 48 (FIG. 3)secured along the spaced horizontal beams 10.

Trolley 30 also comprises a downwardly extending box framework 31 thatincludes four spaced vertical channel members 50 secured to the trolleyrectangular frame 32 and interconnected by a plurality of braces 52. Thedownwardly extending box framework 31 carries the rotatable cleaningbrushes 54 and 55 as hereinafter described.

As best shown in FIGURES 3, 4 and 6, a motor 56 is secured to boxframework 31 and is connected in a driving relationship by belts 58 to apulley 59 driving a shaft 60 journalled within a plurality of bearings62 secured to said framework. Shaft 60 is connected by a spacer coupling`64 to a gear box 66 to rotate two or more pulleys therefrom. In thepresent embodiment, as best shown in FIGURES 3-6, two pulleys 68 areprovided at the top of gear box 66, one of which may be directly drivenby shaft y60.

As best shown in FIGURES 3-7, two main cylindrical brushes 54 aremounted vertically on box framework 31, said brushes each being securedto a shaft journalled at both ends in bearings 72. Bearings 72 are heldat the respective ends of a bracket 74 extending around the brushes S4to form a unitary assembly with the brushes rotatable therein. Eachbracket 74 is secured to one end of one or more L-shaped arms 76 (FIGS.5, 7 and 8), the other ends of said arms being pivotally mounted bybearings 78 on the box framework 31. v

A pulley 80 is secured at the upper end of each brush shaft 70 and isoperatively connected by a belt 82 to a respective gear box pulley 68.Spring tensioned idler pulleys 84 may be provided on box framework 31 toengage the belts 82, in order to keep the drive system under properoperating tension. The trolley motol 38 and the brush motor S6 arepowered by iiexible cable means 86 3 (FIGS. 1-3) connected to the upperspaced horizontal beams 10.

As mentioned above, the L-shaped arms 76 carrying the brush assembly arepivotally connected to the box framework and may thus swing the rotatingbrushes 54 out against the area of the mold to be cleaned. Means areprovided to actuate each of the arms 76 and may comprise a double actingpneumatic cylinder 88 as shown in FIGURE 7, said cylinder beingpivotally connected between the box framework 31 and an arm 76.

As best illustrated in FIGURES 4, and 8, t'he arms 76 are mounted atpivot points that are substantially coaxial Vwith their correspondinggear box pulleys 68. This arrangement allows the arms 76 to swing outwithout altering the tension on the belts 82.

As shown in FIGURE 4, a water spray system may be provided, comprisingvertical lines 90 connected to a regulated source of supply by anyconvenient means. A plurality of directional spray heads 92 are providedalong lines 90 in a spaced relationship, in order to provide a sprayover the entire vertical portion of the mold being scrubbed. The spraysystem has been found effective to greatly minimize the dust that wouldotherwise be created during the scrubbing operation. Preferably, asshown in FIGURE 4, a spray line is provided at both sides of each brush54. A shut-off valve 94 may be provided at the top of each line 90 tofacilitate repair should malfunctioning occur.

In addition to the .main brushes 54, two auxiliary brushes 55 may beprovided to accommodate molds of greater heights. In this instance, theauxiliary brushes 5S are mounted on bearings 96 and connected to apulley 98 driven by a belt 100 and pulley 102 from the underside of thegear box 66. The bearings 96 are connected to one end of a pivotallymounted arm 104 (FIGS. 5 and 7) actuated by double acting power means106, similarly to that arrangement hereinbefore described.

In operation, the open mold 12 is positioned under the framework of thecleaning device such that the center of the cavity and the centerline ofthe box framework 31 approximately coincide, as shown in FIGURE 3. Itwill be understood that the .mold 12 comprises a pair of opposed sideblocks 108 having yplanar inte-rnal surfaces, which, together with a topblock 110, bottom block 112 and end block and ingate (not shown) definethe casting cavity. Means are provided to move the side blocks 108apart, and the mold shown in FIGURE 3 is shown in an open position. Itshould be understood that the internal surfaces of the side blocks 108need not be planar, and the outer contour of the brushes may be designedto accommodate other continuous mold surfaces.

After positioning, power is supplied to the trolley motor 38 and thebrush motor 56, and the trolley 30 proceeds down the rails 28 on itswheels 36 with the brushes 54 spinning. Water is also supplied to spraylines 90.

Upon entering the mold, pneumatic cylinders 88 are extended, therebycausing the brushes 54 to engage the planar surfaces of the side blocks108, as best understood by viewing FIGURES 3 and 8. Suitable means areprovided to reverse the trolley whereby the cleaning device mayreciprocate for as many cycles necessary to clean the mold. A reasonabletrolley speed has been found to be in the neighborhood of 60 feet perminute, and about eight or ten passes (four or five complete cycles) areusually sufficient to clean the mold. The clean mold may then be movedfrom under the cleaning device for subsequent coating and casting.

It has been discovered that the speed of rotation of the brushes and thematerial from which the brushes are constructed are important factors inthe successful use of the presently described apparatus. Very highrotative speeds cause excesive wear on either or both of the brushbristles and the graphite surfaces. Relatively hard bristles, such assteel wire, score the graphite, while relatively soft bristles, such asstraw, wear out too rapidly. It has been found that cylindrical, mediumdense, tufted brushes of 14 inch diameter, composed of .004 inchdiameter brass bristles having dulled ends and revolved at about 400r.p.m. with the trolley .moving at about 24 feet per minute, producevery good results. A loose canvas bufiing wheel operated at about 400r.p.m. with 1A to 1/2 in. deflection has also been found to beeffective.

Nylon brushes have also been used successfully in conjunction with meansto cool the brushes. For this purpose, a water supply may be connectedto each brush shaft and orifices 112 (FIG. 7) may be provided along thelength thereof for cooling the revolving brushes.

Obviously, other types and sizes of brushes may be used if differentoperating parameters are utilized in the device. It is also obvious thatfurther modifications may be made to the present invention withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Cleaning apparatus for a mold wherein the mold includes two opposedvertical surfaces, comprising a trolley movable above said moldsurfaces, a framework suspended from said trolley, at least one pair ofarms pivotally mounted on said framework, means for swinging said armsoutwardly and inwardly from said framework, brush means corresponding tosaid vertical surfaces and operatively connected to said arms, and meansfor rotating said brush means.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein a pair of spaced rails issupported above said mold, wheels are mounted on said trolley fortraveling on said rails, and means are provided for urging said trolleyalong said rails.

3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein water spray means isprovided in conjunction with said brush means, said water spray meansincluding at least one line disposed vertically from said framework, aplurality of spray heads arranged along said line, and means forsupplying water to said line.

4. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said means for rotatingsaid brush means comprises a shaft rotatably mounted in said framework,means for rotating said shaft, gear means associated with said shaft forrotating at least two pulleys, other pulleys connected to each of saidbrush means, and belt means for connecting said two pulleys tocorresponding other pulleys.

S. The invention according to claim 4 wherein each of said pulleysrotated by said gear means corresponds to one of said arms pivotallymounted on said framework and wherein the pivot axis of said arms issubstantially coaxial with the pivot axis of corresponding pulleysrotated by said gear means.

6. The invention according to claim 5 wherein the opposed verticalsurfaces of said mold are substantially planar, and said brush means aresubstantially cylindrical in shape.

7. The invention according to claim 6 wherein said brush means comprises0.004 inch diameter brass bristles having dulled ends.

8. The invention according to claim 6 wherein said brush means comprisesa loose canvas bufiing Wheel.

9. The invention according to claim 6 wherein said brush means comprisesnylon bristles, and means are provided for cooling said bristles duringtbe operation thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,304,565 2/1967 Fuhring.3,233,264 2/1966 Nickl et al 15-21 EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary ExaminerU.S. Cl. X.R.

